The Orphanage Today

Despite things being a little crazy here this weekend, we had to sneak over to borrow a port-a-crib and have a little love from the babies. 

The Line-up, all the kids in their highchairs

Baby Nora and her first two teeth.

Our boys have discovered the ride on cars and the hill on the driveway  go quite well together.
Here are the two oldest boys at the O, enjoying their rides too.

IS and I getting our loves from Partick, Grace, Giselle, Nora and Alex

Giselle was so giggly today. I think she knows she is going home soon and you  tell how happy she is about it!

A day to Celebrate?

Today should have been a day to celebrate. 

It was Justin's last day of work and the kids last day of home school (which is reason for me to celebrate)!

Fate had other plans.

The day started with Roselie in my room before the sun even came up telling me she thought we should take her sick son, whom we picked up last night, to the hospital.

We decided we would take him to the Dr. when they opened in 3 hours and so I tried to go back to sleep.

Only to be awakened by BJ who handed me the cup that was sitting on my nightstand full of his urine. And looking rather proud of himself. I swear this kid is in for a rough American adjustment.

We finally got all 9 kids ready and out the door only to find another power line has fallen and blocked the road. 

Which  means we will probably not have power until we return to the states.

And it means we had to take a back "road" down a hill that is so steep I will not even walk on it. 

There were a lot of prayers offered and breath holding and we made it.

-to the doctor

-to the pharmacy

-to the lab

with all 9 kids

then back to the lab to get the results 

and back to the doctor because I was so frazzled I literally left without paying,

and forgot BJ's hammer

I'm not sure which was worse.

And it turns out Roselies son, Waldy, is very sick.

 (post to follow, it is bad and I need some time to digest)

So, I tried to be happy and have a fun celebration with fruit loops and lucky charms for dinner and brownies and ice cream for dessert.

But, instead we ended up with wild kids, I wonder why, and now I am am on my second can of Pringles while I do a blog marathon.

Wonder who is going to have a sick belly next?

Our sugar cereal dinner, in a lot of ways I am like my mother. Not in this way.
Who feeds their kids sugar cereal for dinner then gives them brownies and ice cream.
Probably the same nut case who has 9 kids walking through Haiti.  

#8

Somehow our house ended up with another toddler this week.

Not somehow, I offered, I am happy to have her.

She is not in great shape emotionally. 

We have had her for two days and just today we got some eye contact with her. 

Working on smiles and noises. 

We call her Fiona

I had to laugh when I noticed that there were more brown babies than blans in my shower tonight. 

It made me happy, they are so much cuter!

And now the toddler section has grown by one

The New Orphanage

This week the big kids and I have spent some time helping Rachel set up her new Orphanage. 

And I have to say that I am really excited about it for a few reasons.

1- it is a home with two levels and real bedrooms and couches, a yard and a kitchen etc.

2- they have another new nanny that I really like, the other new one stayed at the other house. 

And they have a boy room ad a girl room with room for all their clothes etc.

3- they have an incredible storage that I got to organize.  For those who know me well, you know this made my day!

4- They also have a real playroom with real toys for the real kids! 

A concept not understood in a lot of orphanages.

CT with Jasmine, teaching her how to color. 

IS with Lance.

Fruits of Someone Else's Labor

We have been reaping the fruits of someone else labor, speaking literally not in a biblical sense. 

A few months ago our Banana (aka Fig in Creole) tree looked like this.

Now we are picking fresh Bananas off daily.

Also a few months ago Roselie hacked all the bushes in our yard down. And I mean hacked, she was so proud that I had to try not to act shocked to see that all of our beautiful shrubs were now 1/3 of their size.
Except this one.  For some reason she left the one thorny bush that sticks out into the "yard", and I use the word yard very loosely, and now we see why. It is a cherry tree. BJ and BT eat the cherries all the time. 

Building Trust

We have had Velo for about a month now. 

 He is a super sweet little boy, but has never lived with a family and that is a huge change for him I am sure. 

He is our oldest "foster child" we have ever cared for, pair that with the fact that he is coming from an orphanage and does not speak the same language as us and we can just say it has been an interesting adjustment.

I find with all of our "foster kids" we have a building trust time. 

Here is a classic example. 

We go to the pool, he stands on the side and watches the other kids jump in from the side. 

I think having kids the same age is one of the best ways to help new children in the home adjust. Frankly, we really believe it saved our SF. When we got her at 2 years old, she could not even crawl correctly. 

Velo, has been no exception. Although he tries to boss even the oldest children around, he is much more apt to try new things when the other kids are too.

And eventually by himself, into the pool, head under bobbing to the side and everything. 

Having these kidos in our house has given us a renewed interest in foster care for sure. We are excited to get home and start working with some families in our home town. After being here we also have a renewed interest in keeping families together. We see so many people here who have to give their babies up due to economics. From my experience in the foster system in the states, every parent has every ability to get their child back, if they truly want to. There are programs galore and money galore to help parents. I really hope that we will be able to help some families stay together if it be Gods will at home. 

Best Friends

These are the moments that I think I will miss the most. Sure, they will still be friends at home they were before they came too. But, it is different here, they don't really have anyone else so they are always playing together. They make up different games for instance the game they were playing in this picture was "store", they had used a whole package of construction paper to make different things that were for "sale" and then used monopoly money to buy from each other.

View of the Back Seat

The kids are going to miss the non-seatbelt, non-carseat country. 

 And they are going to miss their puppy clobbering them in the back seat too. 

Quote of the Day

We walked by a really noisy rooster this morning on our walk. BT quickly noted "Hey Mom, that chickens barking."

When the guys were here looking at the car the other day. BJ bellied up and looked over the hood then looked confused at the mechanic and said "Why you put the generator in our car?" I guess it does look like a generator, kind of odd my 3 year old even knows what a generator is and the creole word too (delco). 

During Primary, which is held in our home in English, last night Justin asked when is a good time to repent, TJ in all seriousness said "Um, I think that is something you do when you are like 12." Guess we better get back to 'real primary', we miss you Lowreys!

Also, IS broke my heart the other day when suddenly out of the blue, she refused to wear her Disney Princess shirt, stating "Mom, I hate princesses." I tried not to act shocked and cry when I asked her since when, she said "since I turned 8 Mom, princesses are for babies and I am not a baby."  Is this how the independence starts? 

a Hole or a Trench?

When we were considering adopting BT, I counseled with a very wise friend of mine. I was concerned that if we adopted the first child we fostered it would limit our ability to "help" other children. 

She talked with me about the fact that sometimes when you "go to war" you dig a fox hole (for two people), and sometimes you dig a trench (for a number of people). One is not better than the other. 

I have since thought about this a lot. Justin and I have talked a lot about what we feel is better for our family. It turns out my wise friend was correct, one is not better than the other. 

And it also turns out lucky for us that God has made "our burdens lighter" as we have been able to help and we have not really had to choose. And it also turns out in the end we are the ones that have been "helped" anyway...

The Feeding Clinic, trenches,

Some of the kids from the Feeding Clinic

While we love the trench, it is really the holes are the ones that stick with us. And if I'm honest I feel like seeking after the one is of eternal importance.

Baby Nicholas who holds a special place in my heart

A baby at the feeding clinic that I have fallen in love with, its funny even among the many one always sticks out.

And of course our two "foster babies", Velo

And Miss Hannah.

Teeth

Sorry, this picture has noting to do with Haiti. Except to make me realize we need to get home and to the orthodontist. Because I am pretty sure teeth should not be growing in perpendicular to each other. 

Other teeth stories from Haiti.

*TJ brought his tooth fairy pillow on a whim. It is a good thing he has had to use it 4 times since being here. And in case you were wondering the Haitian tooth fairy is as forgetful as the American one often not delivering until later in the day, only after the child has been held in suspense. And the Haitian tooth fairy brings gourdes instead of dollars. Imagine how excited TJ was to get 100 gourdes, the equalivant of about $2.50 USD.

*SF fell and chipped her tooth our first day in the new house. Not really a big deal except with her cleft palate she has a bit of a snaggle tooth that looks even more snaggled now. 

The Orphanage Today

The whole clan (well most of the clan) a few were napping etc. 

I am starting to feel really anxious about leaving these babies. 

Not because I do not think they will be cared for because they will.

Not because I worry about the homes they are going to, they are all great homes.

Really only for very selfish reasons. I love these babies. So many of them have nestled a special place in my heart and I will miss kissing their sweet faces on a regular basis.

I tried to get a better picture of baby Nora and I today, so I gave IS the camera. So, sorry there are a lot of pictures of me today.

Baby Giselle, who is going home really soon. I am so excited for her.

I had to sneak some kisses in.

Nora & I

Just the girls. Giselle, Grace and I.
This truly is my happy place. 

Alex with the new nanny working on his walking.

Grace, using IS's recorder. I think she is going to be musical.

Just the boys. Patrick, Alex and Lens (a new and very malnourished little boy) 

For you medical people out there his H&H were 8.4/21. Whoa!

I have kind of a tender heart for Giselle today.

IS with another new baby. 

This little one sleeping in a drawer just cracked me up. 

Nora smiles, I love how happy and endearing this sweet baby is. 

The Tap Tap

I got to ride on a tap tap for the first time the other day. 

It was not one of the traditional ones that is a painted up pick-up truck with what looks like a kiddie pool over the top. 

It was a van, just me and 19 other Haitians. 

An experience I want to remember. 

A tale of two cars

- Our car here had a broken water pump. Our friend Leon came to fix the car, to our house, on his crutches up our really steep hill, took the bad part out then came back the next day to install the part. 

Done at our house, in 24 hours for less than $300 which included tearing out the front half of the engine.

This is our friend Leon, who does our car repairs. 

- Our car at home was hit by a really bad hail storm. The estimated repair is 5K and will take over 3 weeks.

Thank goodness we have insurance in the states. 

It just kind of made me laugh that the repair was so fast, convenient and cheap (relatively speaking) here. 

I guess some things in Haiti are easier. 

My Lil' Haitian

It's official this guy is almost a real Haitian.

Fathers Day 2012

Happy Fathers Day to some of the best fathers, whom we get to claim as our own. 

The kids worked all morning on a banner for Justin, well and you too Dean (Velo's Dad).

It was a great arts and craft morning for us.  

I even let Roxy put her paw print on the banner. And yes you are seeing that right her paws are as big as my hands.

To the best father of her children a girl could ask for. 

It is only fitting that we had an extra in this pictures as he truly has been a father to the fatherless. 

Don't mind the fact that the children are in their PJ's and all looking like orphans. 

I did not say he dressed them well, just cared for the well.

The Countdown

We are down to weeks before we return "home". 

We are fearful of the great reverse culture shock that is going to occur. 

The things we are looking forward to
Justin
1- Sleeping in my own bed
2- Drinking water out of the faucet
3- Running
4- Cooking on the grill
5- Teaching CT how to mow the lawn

Me

1- Costco, yep that is how shallow I am

2- Brushing my teeth with sink water

3- Showering in water that does not make my hair fall out in clumps, literally clumps

4- Not wondering if the latest mosquito bite my children have will give them Malaria
5- School, for all 6 of them!

CT

1- Seeing relatives

2- Playing with friends at recess

3- Holding Sunshine, his lizard.

4- Going to school

5- Going to the park/pool
6- Electricity all the time

IS

1- Getting braces

2- Going to our Family Reunion

3- Taking Roxy to training school

4- Going to school

5- Bringing Roselie to visit

TJ

1- Getting a turtle

2- Going to our Family Reunion

3- Ride in an airplane

4- Seeing my Family

5- Play Legos with Ryan

Babies

1-To buy a pool (clearly there has been a miscommunication here)

2-Play legos, animals, toys (naming all the things on our toy shelf here)

Bottom line, these kids don't know what "home" is

Things we will Miss
Justin
1- Chauffeurs
2- My news paper selling friend I see every day on my way to work
3- Sights on the street
4- Being stared at from people in the back of tap-taps
5- The feeding clinic and orphanage  kids

Me

1- Seeing Gods hand daily, literally daily (I know this is still possible at home just harder, for me anyway)

2- Really good quality time with my kidos
3- My kidos not having friends to play with which has forced them to be best friends
4- Buying produce without ever getting out of the car
5- The oh so yummy bread

CT
1- Getting bananas off the street
2- Going in our backyard to see a waterfall, TIC
3- Dancing and gathering seashells at the beach
4- Going to the orphanage and throwing stuff at rats
5- Johnny, who is a giant kid

IS
1- My room in this house
2- Home school
3- The beach
4- People visiting us and bringing surprises
5- The orphanage kids and Johnny

TJ
1- No seat belts
2- Having a soccer field in my back yard
3- The beach
4- Sleeping in my mosquito net
5- Kinley, the cat.

Beautiful Things Today

Amongst all the suffering in Haiti there is still so much beauty to be found.

For example;

This beautiful woman we ran into while walking this morning.

Later she knocked on our gate asking for clothes for the baby she is going to have in 3 months.

Luckily, thanks to good friends, I had some to give her. 

 This tree, I am not sure what it is called. But, it is everywhere right now and I love it. It only has leaves and flowers at the very top. 

 We live at the bottom of a VERY steep hill. We are always picking people up to help them to the top. I know stranger danger...

Anyway, this little boy and his mother were so adorable. 

He was just leaving the hospital from getting stitches.

 Roselie. 

Okay this picture is more of a mug shot than a glamour shot.

But, it is for her Visa. 

Today we got her passport, and are hoping and praying she can come and visit us in the US.